Global Korea

Global Korea I

“Snap”
Works Magic
on Broadway

New York / USA

Grue Jarm Production is the official promotional partner of the Korean Cultural Center in New York for the promotion and staging of the non-verbal Korean magic performance “Snap.” The show was featured at the New Victory Theater on the famous 42nd Street on Broadway, with all 499 seats sold out for the opening performance and reception. This means a Korean team has successfully entered the iconic and competitive New York Broadway scene.

As the first Asian magic show invited by the theater, “Snap” is the most successful Korean work on the Broadway stage in 16 years. The opening performance featured waves of laughter from the audience, especially children, and the performers interacted with the audience before the show started.

In addition to the world-class performances Korean magicians have shown in international competitions, the acclaim “Snap” has received in New York could prompt more Koreans to pursue magic.

Korean Booth
Wows at Int’l
Food Expo

Cairo / Egypt

The Korean Cultural Center in Cairo proved just how powerful a tool Korean food can be to attract interest in Korea at the international food festival “La Cuisine: A Taste of Culture.”

At the Korean food booth, Baek Seung-ho, the resident chef at the Korean Embassy in the Egyptian capital, prepared portions enough for 300 people of the tofu-based dish tangpyeongchae (mung bean jelly salad), dakgangjeong (deep-fried braised chicken) and yakgwa (honey cookie). All the diners finished their plates early in the event, and some even came back to eat more several times.

The occasion also provided a great opportunity for ambassadors, foreign residents and government officials in Egypt and vicinity to experience Korean cuisine. With this year marking the 24th year of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Cairo, Egyptian politicians, organizations and three major media companies also took part in the event.

Global Korea II · Written by Wendy Palomo, Honorary Reporter of Korea.net Photo courtesy of Korea.net

Thanking Korea
via Paintings and Poems

She greets friends and acquaintances with a demure smile and disarms with her wit.
Ana Algabre-Hernandez, the wife of former Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul Hernandez, exerted little effort in charming her all-women audience on March 31 during the Women’s Month celebration at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul and in April at the Seoul International Women’s Association’s Working Women Network event. Self-aware and confident, she unpredictably blurted out self-deprecating humor that made the women pause before laughter escaped their mouths. But there’s more to her eloquence.

In addition to being a published poet and children’s story writer, she is a painter whose works highlighted an exhibition at the Philippine Embassy during the Women’s Month celebration.

Madame Ana standing with her paintings. The Joy of Spring is mounted on her right.

As the wife of a former Philippine ambassador to Korea whose five-year stint ended in April this year, she has generously given tribute to Korean women and Filipino marriage immigrants in Korea through her paintings, highlighted by her series “Koreana: Korea in the Eyes of a Foreigner.”

The first work of this series is “Beauty is Universal,” which she said was inspired by Korean women’s femininity, elegance and grace. Through this work, she encourages Korean women to be empowered both by their physical beauty and that from within. Accompanying this painting was her poem “Sparkle.”

She said she recognizes how Filipina immigrants have adapted to Korea and its culture, adding that she has high respect for their resilience. Despite the challenges such immigrants encounter, they surround themselves with positivity, she said, and this is what her painting “The Color of Joy” embodies.

The artist said she does not sell her “priceless” paintings but instead has donated a few of them for “thanking Korea for the people I met, the country that I have I lived in and the memories that I will bring.”